I love sports—playing, watching, you name it. But the sports experience has changed so much over the past few years, in new and exciting ways, which makes being a fan or being a player more dynamic – and way more fun.

Growing up playing basketball, we’d play the game, feed off our fans’ energy and cheers, celebrate when we won, and then challenge the next team!

But today, fans are tweeting messages to their favorite players and players are wearing sensors to track their performance—it’s a whole new ballgame. With the transitions we’ve seen in mobile, cloud and the Internet of Everything (IoE), so much has changed—and will continue to change—how we engage with our favorite teams.

I’d even venture to say that the fan-player relationship is now personal. You used to be able to only enjoy a game at the stadium where it was being played, or by listening to the radio or watching TV. You certainly couldn’t share your thoughts on the game with the players playing, except by screaming at them – or the TV.

Innovations in streaming video, live broadcasting and social media, have made today’s experience radically different. Wi-Fi-enabled sports arenas, combined with the huge expansion in mobile capabilities, mean that fans can watch the game live, watch on TV, or via an app on their smart device. Anyone out there like watching the hoop cam during a game?

We’ve all been there. A grocery store, a department store or even a coffee shop, standing in a long checkout line that hasn’t moved for what seems like an eternity. You ask yourself, ‘Is this purchase worth it?’ For one third of customers, the answer is no, if they have to wait more than five minutes. (Source: Brickstream)

But imagine if we could eliminate checkout lines? Well at Cisco – we have! In our latest conversation about the Internet of Everything, we’ve imagined more possibilities with our “Museum of Lasts” campaign – the last traffic jam, the last blackout, the last missed meeting – and yes, the last checkout line.

Increasingly, retailers understand the importance of having both a physical and digital presence – and how the power of the Internet of Everything will digitize those experiences. Thanks to technologies like predictive analytics that sense foot traffic and notify stores when more cashier lanes should open, as well as sensors on shelves that can identify inventory and automatically place orders when low, customers and retailers are becoming closer than ever before.

But will these technologies help retailers improve the customer experience? Will the Last Checkout Line ever become a reality? I believe the answer is yes. Last month, I shared results from a recent Cisco study that highlighted unique insights about shopping behaviors among U.S. and U.K. consumers. In this digital age, it’s absolutely critical for retailers to provide “hyper-relevant” experiences. Shoppers don’t want to be sent coupons for diapers if they don’t have children; retailers need to understand the reason and context behind each consumer’s shopping experience and react accordingly.

Some of the key findings from the study emphasized that shoppers do not want to wait in a long line. Seventy-seven percent said that they would use checkout optimization to receive estimated wait times, while 60% would scan product bar codes using their smartphone and then pay at a self-service kiosk. These are the types of digital experiences that shoppers are looking for – and will help eliminate the checkout line!

I’ll be boarding a flight to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress tomorrow knowing that this year’s event will be like no other for Cisco’s service provider business.

Over the past two years we’ve completely transformed our service provider engineering organization. We’ve overhauled our technology and services portfolio and, as you’ll see from a blitz of announcements we’ll make with world-leading telecommunications service providers next week, we continue to innovate, and customers really like the progress they’re seeing.

Clearly we’re building what they need, but the story of the past 24 months goes far beyond our portfolio. We’ve changed the way we operate. We have removed impediments to rapid innovation, and accelerated the creation of high-performing teams.

If those words sound familiar, then you probably know Agile software development. The principles of Agile have been applied at Cisco for a long while now. However, what’s really changed in the past two years is summed well in something Agile pioneer Jeff Sutherland wrote in blog marking the 10th anniversary of the agile manifesto:

“Individuals adapting to change is not enough. Organizations must be structured for Agile response. Failure to remove impediments that block progress destroys existing high-performing teams and prevents the formation of new high-performing teams.”

I couldn’t agree more. While Cisco was, and still is, structured well to deliver the best routing technology in the industry, we needed to improve our engineering and business structures to be able to dynamically deliver the software products and cloud services customers could use to rapidly implement new businesses models, and drive more profitable outcomes for their customers.

What we’ve done since 2012 represents a massive transformation. I give tremendous credit to Chief Development Officer Pankaj Patel and his Chief Technology Officer Dave Ward, and I’m extremely proud of the results we’re starting to achieve.

I spent time in France last week, and it’s clear to me that the French tech scene is at an inflection point. The time to invest in France’s future is now. And with more startups than any other European country at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, and a strong infrastructure in place, France is primed to embrace the latest technology transition: digitization of everything.

Digitization, which harnesses the power of what we call the Internet of Everything at Cisco — the connection of people, process, data and things — will change everything from the way we work to how we serve citizens, and teach our young people.

I believe that France will lead in this new era of country digitization. The French government truly understands the economic and societal benefits digitization will bring. Last week, I met with Prime Minister Manuel Valls, and together we announced an ambitious partnership, pledging to transform France into a digital republic. By creating a connected ecosystem, there is tremendous opportunity to fuel economic growth, create jobs, foster innovation — even improve energy use.

Cisco will power this initiative through the network. France has a strong traditional infrastructure in place — roads, water lines, buildings, even parking spaces — and the country is now committing to build out their digital infrastructure, which will help increase productivity, create jobs, and improve the lives of citizens. Cybersecurity will also be enhanced for the country and its businesses and citizens, and the results for France could be dramatic.

When I watched the Grammy’s last month, I wasn’t only rooting for my favorite artists from my couch – I had Twitter open, engaging with my friends, following interesting hash-tags, and engaging in the event in a way that five years ago wasn’t even an option.

Industry people call this the 2nd screen and it’s fast become the way many people engage with TV and the thousands or millions of other viewers and fans across the globe. I don’t want to just sit passively in front of the TV, I want to be involved – but it’s just text, it’s one-way, and like it or not, I’m still not “part” of the show.

I grew up in Hollywood… and I remember seeing throngs of people lining up for the chance to be part of the live studio audience for any number of shows. They wanted to be involved. If they were lucky enough to get in, they still weren’t fully involved in the experience – it was one-way. They might be “on TV” when the camera panned the audience – and that was good enough.

Think about how many people stand outside just to be on the Today Show’s background video feed. But that audience has to be in NYC to participate and it’s still one-way. And to be in a live studio audience, you have to be local, be there in person.

The awesome and creative team at Jimmy Kimmel Live is asking the question: What if you didn’t have to be “local” anymore? What if the one-way text experience became a live, interactive experience? What if you could participate IN the show from anywhere, on any device, via video… be “on TV” from the comfort of your living room?

Well, I’m happy to tell you that the collaboration team at Cisco is partnering with Jimmy Kimmel Live to change that. We’re bringing the 2nd screen to the next level – and building in the opportunity for fans to be in the live studio audience at the same time – to be “part” of the show.

The “Wall of America”, located on the Jimmy Kimmel Live set in Hollywood, and powered by Cisco, will allow viewers in the US to video call from any device for an opportunity to be on the live broadcast. Through Cisco’s Jabber Guest, any participant with a browser and a camera will be able to click a link and have the possibility of joining the live broadcast. The producers will choose viewers to appear on the video wall, extending the live studio experience to viewers at home. Up to 20 different fans can be a part of the video wall simultaneously. Sound too good to be true? Check out the debut of the “Wall of America” on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show:

Some of the individuals posting to this site, including the moderators, work for Cisco Systems. Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not of Cisco. The content is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to be an endorsement or representation by Cisco or any other party. This site is available to the public. No information you consider confidential should be posted to this site. By posting you agree to be solely responsible for the content of all information you contribute, link to, or otherwise upload to the Website and release Cisco from any liability related to your use of the Website. You also grant to Cisco a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free and fully-paid, transferable (including rights to sublicense) right to exercise all copyright, publicity, and moral rights with respect to any original content you provide. The comments are moderated. Comments will appear as soon as they are approved by the moderator.